Henry Slade (right) and his England teammates suffered their greatest defeat ever at Twickenham on Saturday against France (PictureGetty)
England have begun the inquest into their biggest defeat at Twickenham in the stadium’s 116-year history after France dazzled in a 53-10 win.
Ireland in Dublin is the final assignment of the Six Nations before preparation for the autumn’s World Cup ramps up, so let’s take a look at the fallout from Saturday’s debacle.
What went wrong?
For all but a brief spell in the third quarter, England were overpowered in the contact area and many of their failings stemmed from that.
France were magnificent, playing rugby from another world to plunder seven tries, but the way the home pack were physically dominated was disturbing. This was compounded by England’s lack of intensity that meant they lost the collisions time after time.
What can be done?
Borthwick is under pressure to change the team’s tactics (Picture: Getty)
Head coach Steve Borthwick has three main levers he can pull – change the tactics, change the personnel and change the mindset. The gameplan will be adjusted as Ireland’s strength lies in their tactical cohesion rather than power, while Borthwick is sure to freshen up the team.
How he picks his players up off the canvas will be the biggest challenge as it was the type of result that leaves permanent scarring.
Who could be dropped?
Scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet could be dropped from the lineup (Picture: Shutterstock)
Number eight Alex Dombrandt and scrum-half Jack van Poortvliet are the most in danger, while centre Henry Slade cannot be far behind.
Dombrandt was the least effective forward on the day and Van Poortvliet has struggled ever since the July tour to Australia, and may benefit from a spell out of the team. Slade, meanwhile, has played three games yet has barely been seen.
Do England have a chance in Dublin?
Eddie Jones (pictured) was England’s previous head coach (Picture: Getty)
It is hard to envisage any scenario whereby Ireland – installed as 1/8 favourites by bookmakers – fail to claim their first Grand Slam since 2018.
Coach Andy Farrell has guided the Irish to the top of the rankings and even allowing for the number of injuries sustained in Sunday’s win in Scotland, they have the firepower to see off one of the weakest England teams in Six Nations history.
Accurate, relentless, skillful – Ireland take some stopping, as even France discovered to their cost in round two.
More: Six Nations
What does it mean for the World Cup?
Passage into the quarter-final was taken as a given but on the evidence at Twickenham on Saturday, England’s Pool D clashes with Argentina and Japan are fraught with danger.
Borthwick has one competitive match followed by four warm-up games to shape the side – precious little time given the mess he inherited from Eddie Jones. Ambitions are being revised and if they get out of a group completed by Samoa and Chile, they will have done well.
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The head coach oversaw England’s biggest defeat at Twickenham in 116 years.
